Activists belonging to an initiative called “Witnesses of the Constitution” gathered in Moscow and St. Petersburg on April 12, Cosmonautics’ Day, to recite the Russian Federation’s highest law as a public reminder to citizens of their rights and freedoms. (Russian Service)

Protesters in the capital city Skopje on April 12 demanded President Gjorge Ivanov’s resignation and threw eggs at his office after he pardoned politicians and others implicated in a vast wiretapping operation.

Speaker Volodymyr Hroysman told Ukraine’s parliament on April 13 that he has agreed to be a candidate for the post of prime minister and was prepared to negotiate a new cabinet with the newly formed ruling coalition. (In Russian/Current Time TV)

Russian doctors examining Nadia Savchenko have declared her health satisfactory but, according to her lawyers, refuse to release the results of her medical tests. The imprisoned Ukrainian pilot has been on a dry hunger strike since April 5. (In Ukrainian)

According to official figures, Russia spends approximately $197,000 annually, or a little over one million rubles per month, to preserve the entombed body of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin’s body, who died in 1924. (In Russian/Current Time TV)

Plans to broadcast a congress of Crimean Tatars on the website of the Lithuanian parliament were thwarted when the new $4 million online security system was hacked. Delegates, convening in Vilnius April 11 - 13, have accused Russia of the breach. (In Russian/Current Time TV)

In an interview with RFE/RL Boris Reitschuster, a German journalist and author of the book Putin’s Secret War, says that Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging a covert, hybrid war in Germany that makes use of massive propaganda, strengthened ties with right-wing populists, and the creation of a network of potential combat units under the guise of sports clubs. (In Russian)

Moscow media expert Vasily Gatov has coined the term “rotten herring” to describe the propaganda methods used by Russian state-controlled TV channels VGTRK and Channel One. It entails blending falsehoods with facts with the aim of devaluing the issue and degrading the truth. (over 30K on Russian Service website)